Cognitive Radio: Fundamentals and

Opportunities
Robert H. Morelos-Zaragoza
Department of Electrical Engineering
San Jose State University
October 12, 2007
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 2 of 18
Outline
1. Software-defined radio (SDR)
a) Black-box approach
b) Components and attributes (Mitola)
2. Cognitive radio (CR)
a) Definition and overview (Mitola)
b) CR features (FCC)
3. Unlicensed TV spectrum usage and WRANs
4. Digital channel detection in the 915 MHz
ISM band (demo)
5. Opportunities and technical challenges
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 3 of 18
1. SDR: The black box approach
Improved security/reliability:
Specification on components replaced by functionality
Programmability is not only possible but essential
Input
signals
Output
signals
Radio subsystem
Software-defined radio (SDR) idea [1]:
Specify input/output signals at the boundaries of a
subsystem, and not the internal components.
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 4 of 18
Software radio components [1]
Multibeam antenna array
Multiband RF conversion
Wideband ADC and DAC
IF/ channel select processing
Modulation/Demodulation
Bitstream processing
f
Power
Channel
bandwidth
Control
Environment
characterization
DSP,
FPGA,
Software
Adaptation:
- SNR/BER
- Interference
- Band/mode selection
Over-the-air
delivery
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 5 of 18
A Basic Cognitive Cycle [2]
RF environment
Radio-scene
analysis
Channel estimation
Predictive modeling
Transmit power control
Spectrum management
RF stimuli
(sensing)
Interference
TRANSMITTER
Quantized channel capacity
Available Spectrum
Noise floor
Traffic statistics
RECEIVER
Action:
Transmitted
signal
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 6 of 18
SDR component attributes [1]
Multiband, multimode, agile services Multiple personalities
Source/channel, QoS vs, load, integration Joint control
Simultaneity, multiband propagation Channel sets
Antenna, diversity/MIMO, RF conversion RF access
Beamforming, diversity combining, spatial
multiplexing, channel estimation
IF processing
Baseband modem, timing and carrier
recovery, equalization, waveforms
Modulation/demodulation
Bit error rate Channel coding/decoding
Transmission security, authentication, non-
repudiation, privacy, data integrity
Information security
Multiplexing, services and networking Service/network
Audio, video and data Source coding/decoding
Attributes Functional component
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 7 of 18
2. Cognitive radio definition (Mitola)
A radio frequency transceiver designed to
intelligently detect whether a particular segment
of the radio spectrum is in use, and to jump into
(and out of) the temporarily unused spectrum
very rapidly, without interfering with the
transmission of other authorized users. [3]
Quote: B. Fette, Three obstacles to cognitive radio, EE Times, Aug. 2004
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 8 of 18
Cognitive Radio Overview [3]
Wideband
A/D-D/A
Wideband RF
Conversion
Programmable
Processor(s)
Software Radio
HF LVHF VHF-UHF Cellular Indoor & RF LAN VHDR
2 MHz 28 88 400 960 MHz 6 34 GHz 1.39 GHz
PCS
2.5 5.9
Software
Radios
Very Low Band Low Mid Band High Band
Cellular Mobile
Public Safety
Fixed Terrestrial

4
C
h
a
n
n
e
l
s
Antenna RF Modem
INFOSEC
Baseband User Interface
Model-Based Reasoning RKRL Frames
Spatial &
Temporal
Knowledge
Software
architecrure
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 9 of 18
Cognitive radio features FCC [4]
Frequency Agility - the ability of a radio to
change its operating frequency to optimize use
under certain conditions
Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) the
ability to sense signals from other nearby
transmitters in an effort to choose an optimum
operating environment
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 10 of 18
Cognitive radio features FCC
(cont.)
Location Awareness - the ability for a device to
determine its location and the location of other
transmitters, and first determine whether it is
permissible to transmit at all, then to select the
appropriate operating parameters such as the
power and frequency allowed at its location.
Negotiated Use - a cognitive radio could
incorporate a mechanism that would enable
sharing of spectrum under the terms of a
prearranged agreement between a licensee and
a third party (lessee).
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 11 of 18
Cognitive radio features FCC
(cont.)
Adaptive Modulation the ability to modify
transmission characteristics and waveforms to
exploit opportunities to use spectrum
Transmit Power Control (TPC) to permit
transmission at full power limits when
necessary, but constrain the transmitter power
to a lower level to allow greater sharing of
spectrum when higher power operation is not
necessary
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 12 of 18
3. Unlicensed TV spectrum [5]
Use unused channels in the VHF (54-88 MHz,
174-216 MHz) and UHF (470-638 MHz) analog
TV bands (white space) in certain areas
Greater range than WiFi/WiMax in rural areas
FCC proposed three possible approaches:
Passive sensing: Listen-before-talk
GPS plus data base to determine free frequencies
Separate beacon transmitters indicating unavailable
spectrum
Related specification: 802.22 WRAN
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 13 of 18
802.22 WRAN (regional) [6]
Adaptive modulation: Typical spectrum capacity
is 3 bits/sec*Hz (e.g., 64-QAM with code rate)
OFDM type modulation to counter increased
multipath due to less directional antennas at VHF
and low UHF (e.g., 1000 carriers to cover a range
of 0.16 sec to up to 33 sec) (8000 carriers if
on-channel repeaters are needed?)
OFDMA on return link allows scaling of the user
terminal transmit power to the transmitted data
rate
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 14 of 18
4. Digital channel detection in the
915 MHz ISM band (demo)
915 920 905 20 25 10 902 7 928 33
LNA
CHANNEL
FILTER
MIXER
SYNTHESIZER
AND VCO
AMP
LOWPASS
FILTER
ADC
DSP/FPGA
CHANNEL
FILTER

f
c
= 915 MHz
B = 26 MHz
f
c
= 895 MHz
B = 33 MHz
f
s
= 120 Ms/s
W
1
=0.143
W
2
=0.2
f
1
= 8.5 MHz
f
2
= 12 MHz
0.17
f (MHz) f (MHz)
2
LOW IF
DIGITAL
SELECTION
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 15 of 18
Matlab demo
905
MHz
920
MHz
915
MHz
Three ISM channels
QPSK modulation
2 Mbps each
Previous figure
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 16 of 18
5. Opportunities
With cognitive radio technology, the best
hardware does not necessarily win
Functionality and flexibility are premium
Do your wireless communications coursework
Small companies can compete
In principle, any format of signal is valid, as long
as interference power levels are respected

Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 17 of 18
Technical challenges
Programmable multirate baseband architectures
Wide, multiple and flexible RF front-ends
High-performance and flexible ADC/DAC
Dynamic signal processing
Spectrum sensing, channel estimation, MIMO,
modulation and coding, spectrum shaping, transmit
power control, interference avoidance
Cognitive wireless network etiquette
Sense, discover, negotiate, transfer, ...
Cognitive Radio - RHMZ - 2007 Slide 18 of 18
References
[1] J. Mitola, The Software Radio Architecture, IEEE Comm. Magazine, vol.
33, no. 5, pp. 26-38, May 1995
[2] S. Haykin, Cognitive Radio: Brain-Empowered Wireless Communications,
IEEE JSAC, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 201-220, Feb. 2005
[3] J. Mitola, Cognitive radio: An integrated agent architecture for software-
defined radio, Doctor of Technology, KTH, Sweden, 2000
[4] FCC Docket 05-57
[5] M.J. Markus, Unlicensed Cognitive Sharing of TV Spectrum, IEEE Comm.
Magazine, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 24-25, May 2005
[6] G. Chouinard, WRAN System Concept, IEEE 802.22-04-003, Nov. 2004
[7] N. Devroye, P. Mitran, and V. Tarokh, Achievable Rates in Cognitive Radio
Channels, IEEE Trans. Info. Theory, vol. 52, no. 5, pp. 1813-1827, May
2006
[8] S. Geirhofer, L. Tong and B.M. Sadler, Dynamic Spectrum Access in the
Time Domain: Modeling and Exploiting White Space, IEEE Comm.
Magazine, vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 66-72, May 2007